Xavier Pastrano Book Release and Open Mic Saturday in Sioux Falls

The Full Circle Book Co-op's next open mic is coming up March 16th featuring special guest Ryan Boyland from Omaha and local Sioux Falls poet Xavier Pastrano.

Xavier will also have his latest book available Saturday night, and I asked Pastrano what readers can expect from his latest work.

Pastrano: My new book is called Seeing Sounds and it’s my attempt at combining two important things in my life: music and poetry. The book features 15 poems and illustrations that were inspired by 15 songs. I wanted the book to have the nostalgic feel of a mixed CD, so the book cover features a blank CD with the title on it and the book size is 8x8, so it really resembles something you would have received from a friend. Additionally, I created a Spotify playlist of the songs and included the QR link in the book, so people can scan it and listen to the songs that inspired the poems. This has been a passion project of mine for the past year, and I’m super thankful to Robert Swaney and Harsan Publishing for helping me make it a reality.

From 4:30 pm till 5:30 pm that same day the Full Circle Book Co-op will also be having a poetry workshop with Boyland.

From the Full Circle Book Co-op event page:

Special guest and slam poet Ryan Boyland, from Omaha will be leading a poetry class at the Co-op!
The goal of this poetry workshop is to provide a safe space for a writer, either new or seasoned, to push themselves and create art while balanced on the edge of their comfort zone.
We’ll start with a series of prompts aimed at encouraging the poet to write from the heart, not the head, as cliché as that sounds, and go from there. Note: the workshop will be focused on composition, but feel free to bring works in progress.
There's a suggested donation of $5 to support The BLOT Collective and Ryan's travels!

For more info on the Full Circle Book Co-op and other upcoming events check out their Facebook page.